I thought this was a mostly lovely story of family. The main character, Lucy, is around 40 years old, recently married and desperate for a child. Her new husband has a teenaged daughter that Lucy has never met, who is coming to stay with them for a while. There are also complicated relationships with family members and ex-partners.

It started out a bit rough for me. Although I could understand and feel for what Lucy was going through, she came across as bit obsessed and whiny. It is difficult to listen to someone struggling with pregnancy, especially when that person seems to think about getting pregnant all the time.

I felt that the husband's character was somewhat inconsistent. At times, he seemed like he was the most wonderful husband on earth and other times, he was a little dismissive or insensitive. I suppose people can be like that in real life, but it just didn't feel true.

The middle (and majority) of the book was wonderful with a lot of interesting stuff going on. Some of the twists you can see coming, but it was still well done and this didn't take away from the story for me. Actually, it made the story feel more real when things progressed as expected.

Then, the end. The last couple of chapters were just meh. I sometimes get a little frustrated when authors try to wrap up every thread in a neat little bow. For one, not every life situation is wrapped up neatly so it feels packaged. In addition, it was unnecessary. As a reader, you did not get to know or care about some of the side characters and didn't need to know how things turned out for them. Would this make it more difficult for some of the main characters or perhaps leave you hanging on how that relationship turns out? Maybe, but that's ok. You know how the main characters and their relationships turned out. You don't need to know about characters you never actually met in the story.

Overall, it was a good story. Not great, but I mostly enjoyed it. I might recommend it to someone if I knew their taste leaned this way. I might even give it 3.5 stars, if that were allowed. It was certainly worth the read.

I just loved this book!! It was so well written that you really felt like you were a part of Lucy's life. I haven't read anything else by this author, but definitely will be reading more of her books.

I couldn't relate to Lucy at all. As someone who is childfree, her struggle to have a child of her own was not something I can understand. For some reason, that impacted my impression of the story.

I felt some of the plot points - starting with Lucy's first encounter with Jonah and continuing throughout the book - were just too soapy. At one point, Jonah even declares that their life isn't a soap opera. How I wish that were true!

Once we get into the second half of the book, and some truths are told, I feel the story improves. But it takes some drama to get there and then things are wrapped in too nice of a bow.

This book is readable - and I certainly wanted to find out how things would resolve themselves, but I wish I'd liked the story more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A poignant story of the heartbreak far too many women face when trying to start a family

Miscarriage is a difficult topic to write about well but 'The idea of you' was brilliantly and sensitively done. However I found a lot of the narrative and conversations slightly too idealistic to be believable and sadly, for me the characters lacked some depth for me to fully connect with them.

I do admit to skipping over some of the sub-chapters where Lucy is talking about/to her baby daughter as the first few I read didn't seem to lend anything to the story.

It sounds like I didn't enjoy this book - I did - I just find it difficult to sound positive and happy about a story filled with sadness.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absorbing story about normal people living normal lives. Good characters and a great storyline. Very sad in parts but also uplifting, in reading how people overcome lifes' obstacles and come out the other end, with joy and happiness.

An emotional read, beautifully written story of heartbreak, hope and family.

A very well written book dealing with a sensitive subject.

I've spent the last day trying to come up with a way to review this book. Every once in awhile I get gobsmacked with a novel that just hits me so hard, that I can't find the words. I considered not writing a review, thinking maybe this one was just too personal and I should let it go. But, the part of me that needs to share wonderful things answers back "no way, go shout about the book". So, here I am, my third attempt to review.

The Idea of You started slowly and with a prologue that threw out all kinds of red flags for me, wondering if I'd be able to empathize with the protagonist, Lucy. I quickly realized that I could, especially when her profound loneliness broke my heart as she compared her life-a very successful one as a top advertising executive-to that of her peers, all who were mothers. One thing stood out immediately about Lucy, she yearned to hold her own child.

Lucy doesn't stay lonely for long, meeting Jonah and marrying. After just a year of marriage, Lucy and Jonah are joyously happy and expecting their first child. Until they're not. Whether it's her age (40) or just fate, Lucy finds that holding her own child becomes an elusive endeavor. When Jonah's teenage daughter, Camille, comes to live with them, tensions soon rise between Lucy, Jonah, and Camille, adding insult to injury for the hurting Lucy.

Lucy's journey is one that many of us can easily relate to, myself included. The pain of multiple miscarriages is hard to describe. There's hope, an immediate connection with the life inside you that you recognize as your little one, then the despair when the blood comes, followed by the physical and emotional pain of loss. This magnifies with each pregnancy, eventually, as Jonah remarks to Lucy, taking the joy away. Author Amanda Prowse captures all of this in a simple and compelling way.

As the tensions rise between Lucy, Jonah, and Camille, Lucy's secret (given with few clues in the prologue) rises to the surface, slowly unraveling her. Her losses begin to blend together until she breaks, an emotional tide that had me sobbing. How she eventually deals with this, accepting that she's never been alone and that perhaps things had unfolded as they should, leads to growth and an unexpected joy she never anticipated.

Motherhood is at the heart of The Idea of You: Lucy's own journey, Camille's relationship with both her mother and stepmother, and Lucy's relationship with her own mother, strained for years. There's also the conflict we, as women, all face: can we have it all? The notion that each of us can, but in our own way, is the true beauty of this novel.

5 sobbing, beautiful stars for The Idea of You.

An intelligent and insightful novel, with a bittersweet ending.
I enjoyed the main characters, although I think Jonas could have been filled out a little more.
I wouldn't describe this as Chick-Lit, but suspect it would be more popular with females.

What an amazing storyteller Amanda is. I have never had children or experienced a miscarriage so I wasn't sure about this book when I read the synopsis. Once again Amanda drew me into the story and I couldn't put it down. Wonderful characters and a twist I didn't expect. Great book, highly recommended but keep a box of tissues handy. Fabulous

Dealing with infertility myself, I knew this book would be a hard one. And finishing it on Mother's Day... Probably didn't help my tears. Although I haven't experienced the things Lucy has, her pain is all too known to me. The longing of having your own child & for your body to just do what it's supposed to do. The frustration & pain when it doesn't. It sucks. And it's so damn hard. I loved so many aspects of this book. The change in dynamics between the characters was so good. And the ending tied up all the lose parts so amazingly well. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this amazing book!

Sorry I just saw that this book was approved and is now archived so I won't be able to download it. I'm not sure if there was a glitch but I never saw it available.

The beginning of the book was slow but I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. Lucy Carpenter seems to have it all-a happy marriage, great family and friends and a career she really enjoys. But Lucy feels a void in her life and as her story unfolds you feel her sadness and ultimately her joy. With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Yet another amazing book from Amanda Prowse. Fantastic read, very true and bittersweet. Amanda's characters always are real to life and this book is no exception. A real tear jerking book but one to easily recommend.

What an enjoyable book that was to read as we followed Lucy's battle to have a baby. I was a bit unsure of the pre-chapter ramblings to begin with and wondered where they were leading to but by the end, you get your answer.

Amanda Prowse always manages to tackle subjects that are unspoken
She writes beautifully about hard to discuss topics.
Loved this book!

Wow!! Amanda Prowse is one of my favourite authors. I have read most of her other books and will continue to purchase her books in the future. The Idea of You is up there with some of her best work.

This is a beautiful story about motherhood, marriage, friendship and life. It embarks on a journey of Lucy's quest to be a mother- above all else. It is poignant and touching and at times, heartbreaking.
In between each chapter is a letter Lucy has been writing. It's a letter to a child which I won't go into too much detail about but is absolutely beautiful and so sad to read.

'The Idea of You' is a gorgeous and emotionally charged novel. It was sometimes difficult to read but also difficult to put down. Highly recommend to anyone who has a love for well written stories.

I just could not get into this book. Not sure if the subject matter was something I wanted to deliver into. So unable to give a review

Life has changed for Lucy. Previously a single career woman approaching forty, she has fallen in love and married Jonah. She feels lucky to become pregnant so quickly, but her joy turns to grief when she miscarries early on.
Tension is further increased when Jonah’s teenage daughter, Camille comes to stay for the summer.
I would normally find my attention wandering after a while with this type of story, but this novel is well written. Amanda Prowse’s understanding of and empathy with Lucy, regarding her losses and her difficulties in the step-mother/step-daughter relationship make for easy and entertaining reading. Hidden secrets, hinted at throughout, are deftly revealed as the pressure on Lucy and Camille grows.
Many readers will love this novel, and I would be happy to read more of this author’s work.
My thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this book.